Dynamic remotely managed SIM profile

ABSTRACT

A method for managing device profiles is provided. The method comprises adding at least one alternative primary profile to a memory module at an alternative address different from a main address of a main primary profile. The method further comprises modifying a pointer that points to an address in the memory module from which a profile is retrieved such that the pointer points to the alternative address. The main primary profile comprises a main device identifier and a main authentication key, and the alternative primary profile comprises an alternative device identifier and an alternative authentication key.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

Mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, and similar portableelectronic devices that have telecommunications capabilities may includeat least one memory module, such as but not limited to a UniversalIntegrated Circuit Card (UICC), a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), aUniversal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), or a Removable UserIdentity Module (R-UIM). Any such module may be referred to herein as amemory module. Identifying information associated with the mobiledevice, identifying information associated with the user of the mobiledevice, user account information, and other device-related and/oruser-related information may be stored in the memory module. Some memorymodules may be removable cards, and other memory modules may be embeddedin the circuitry of the mobile device.

Mobile devices that communicate according to the global system formobile communications (GSM) wireless communication protocol or accordingto the long-term evolution (LTE) wireless communication protocoltypically use SIM cards. Devices that communicate according to the codedivision multiple access (CDMA) wireless communication protocol oraccording to the worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX)wireless communication protocol typically do not use SIM cards.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a method for managing device profiles is disclosed.The method comprises adding at least one alternative primary profile toa memory module at an alternative address different from a main addressof a main primary profile. The method further comprises modifying apointer that points to an address in the memory module from which aprofile is retrieved such that the pointer points to the alternativeaddress. The main primary profile comprises a main device identifier anda main authentication key, and the alternative primary profile comprisesan alternative device identifier and an alternative authentication key.

In another embodiment, a system for creating and installing analternative primary profile on a device is provided. The systemcomprises a first version of a profile management tool and a secondversion of the profile management tool. The first version of the profilemanagement tool is configured to receive identity information associatedwith the device and test environment information associated with thedevice and further configured to create the alternative primary profilebased on the identity information and the test environment information.The second version of the profile management tool is configured toreceive the alternative primary profile from the first version of theprofile management tool and further configured to install thealternative primary profile on the device. The alternative primaryprofile comprises an alternative device identifier based on the identityinformation and an alternative authentication key.

In another embodiment, a method for creating and installing analternative primary profile on a device is disclosed. The methodcomprises retrieving, by a profile management tool, from a repository oftest environment templates, a test environment template applicable totesting to be performed on the device. The method further comprisescombining, by the profile management tool, the test environment templatewith identity information for the device to create the alternativeprimary profile. The method further comprises installing, by the profilemanagement tool, at an alternative memory address on the devicedifferent from a main memory address of a main primary profile for thedevice, the alternative primary profile.

These and other features will be more clearly understood from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, referenceis now made to the following brief description, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein likereference numerals represent like parts.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for creating and installing analternative primary profile on a device according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for creating and installing analternative primary profile on a device according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for managing device profilesaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a handset according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a handset according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram of a software architecture of a handsetaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram of another software architecture of a handsetaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an exemplary computer system suitable forimplementing some aspects of the several embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood at the outset that although illustrativeimplementations of one or more embodiments are illustrated below, thedisclosed systems and methods may be implemented using any number oftechniques, whether currently known or in existence. The disclosureshould in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations,drawings, and techniques illustrated below, but may be modified withinthe scope of the appended claims along with their full scope ofequivalents.

The present disclosure describes a system for and methods of providingan alternative primary profile on a telecommunication device. In anembodiment, quality assurance parameters associated with a desired testenvironment are combined with identity information for a specific deviceto create an alternative primary profile. The alternative primaryprofile is loaded into a memory location in a memory module differentfrom the memory location of the main primary profile. The memory addressfrom which profile information is read from the memory module can beswitched between the address of the main primary profile and the addressof the alternative primary profile. During standard consumer operationof the device, profile information can be read from the memory locationof the main primary profile in the standard manner. During testing ofthe device, profile information can be read from the memory location ofthe alternative primary profile. In this way, testing can be performedon the device without any manipulation of or impact to the main primaryprofile. If testing is to be performed on the same device with differentquality assurance parameters, the new parameters can overwrite theprevious parameters in the memory location of the alternative primaryprofile. While the embodiments disclosed herein may be discussed in thecontext of the testing of mobile devices, the embodiments may beapplicable in other scenarios as well.

A device profile is typically stored in the device's memory module atthe time of manufacture of the device. The profile typically contains,among other information, a device identifier and an authentication key.In the case of LTE or GSM, the device identifier might be anInternational Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and the authenticationkey might be referred to as the K value. In the case of CDMA, the deviceidentifier might be a Mobile Directory Number (MDN), and theauthentication key might be referred to as the A-key. A profile mightalso contain information about how the device operates in a particularenvironment, such as the servers that the device might be connected to.In an embodiment, a main primary profile may comprise a main deviceidentifier and a main authentication key, and an alternative primaryprofile may comprise an alternative device identifier and an alternativeauthentication key.

Typically, only the manufacturer of the memory module has access tocertain profile parameters that are stored on the memory module, such asthe identifier and the authentication key. Once such parameters havebeen stored in the memory module, they can typically be changed only bythe manufacturer. That is, if the identifier or the authentication keyis to be changed, the device may have to be returned to the manufacturerwhere it may be connected via a hard-wired connection to the appropriateequipment for making such a modification.

Some devices may include both a primary profile and a secondary profile.Each profile may be associated with a different telecommunicationsprovider, or the different profiles may exist for some other reason. Theprofiles might be prioritized such that the primary profile is usedunder typical circumstances and the secondary profile is used under lesscommon circumstances. In some cases, the primary profile and thesecondary profile are located in the same memory module, and in othercases, the primary profile and the secondary profile are located indifferent memory modules. At least one of the profiles might be loadedonto a removable memory module. If a device user wishes to changeprofiles, the user might replace a removable memory module that containsa first profile with another removable memory module that contains asecond profile.

As an example, a device might have a primary profile on either anembedded or removable memory module and a secondary profile on aremovable memory module. The user of the device might use the primaryprofile for domestic calling and use the secondary profile forinternational calling. If the user travels to multiple countries, uponleaving one country and entering another, the user may swap theremovable memory module with a different memory module that has adifferent secondary profile so that the device maintains a secondaryprofile appropriate for the country in which it is present. The primaryprofile would be retained throughout the swapping of the secondaryprofiles and would be available to the user upon returning from theinternational travel.

As mentioned above, at or near the time of manufacture of a device, atleast one profile may be loaded into at least one of the device's memorymodules. At some point in the manufacturing process after the profilehas been loaded, testing may be performed on the device to ensure thatthe device functions properly in the environment in which it is expectedto operate. Different locations where testing occurs may have differentenvironments and different quality assurance parameters, and differentprofiles may be loaded into a memory module at each location to accountfor these different test parameters. Thus, testing a device underdifferent environmental parameters may be likened to operating thedevice in different networks. Since the memory module manufacturer hascontrol over the information that is loaded into the secure locations ona memory module, the manufacturer can change the test parameters asneeded. No other entity has access to the secure locations where theprofiles are stored, so no other entity can modify the test parametersthrough direct manipulation of values stored in the memory module.

In some situations, testing may need to be done after a device has leftthe point of manufacture, and the testing may require a profiledifferent from the profile that was loaded onto the device at the timeof manufacture. If the testing is to be performed for a profile storedon an embedded memory module, the device may have to be returned to themanufacturer so that the manufacturer can load the different profileinto the embedded memory module. If the testing is to be performed for aprofile stored on a removable memory module, it may be possible toremove the memory module currently installed in the device and install adifferent memory module that has the profile for which testing is to beperformed. That is, a memory module manufacturer may produce multiplememory modules, each having a different profile, and the manufacturermay make these memory modules available to another entity that may wishto do testing. The other entity may maintain a repository of suchmodules and may swap the modules out as needed to perform testing fordifferent profiles associated with different testing environments.

With either embedded memory modules or removable memory modules,considerable inconvenience may be experienced when testing is to beperformed for a profile different from the profile originally loadedonto a device. For embedded memory modules, it can be inconvenient toreturn the device to the manufacturer. For removable memory modules, itcan be inconvenient to maintain a large number of modules and swap themodules for every different quality assurance environment to be tested.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can overcome these inconveniencesby providing an alternative primary profile that can be loaded into amemory location on a memory module different from the memory location inwhich the main primary profile is loaded. The alternative primaryprofile can be associated with parameters that allow a device to betested under a specified quality assurance environment. If a differentset of parameters is wanted, the new set can overwrite the previous setin the same alternative memory location of the memory module.Alternatively, a memory module may include multiple alternative memorylocations, and a different alternative primary profile could be loadedinto each of the locations.

The use of the alternative primary profile allows a primary profile tobe loaded onto a device without affecting the main primary profile thatwas loaded onto the device at the time of manufacture. The primaryprofile that is in use at a given time can be switched between the mainprimary profile and the alternative primary profile such that, when thedevice is to be used in a standard manner, the main primary profile canbe selected, and when testing is to be performed, the alternativeprimary profile can be selected. Thus, a profile with a desired set ofquality assurance parameters can be loaded into the alternative primaryprofile, and testing can be performed for that profile without returningthe device to the manufacturer and without swapping removable memorymodules.

More specifically, the main primary profile can be stored in a memorymodule at a first memory location, and the alternative primary profilecan be stored in a memory module at a second memory location. When adevice is to be operated in the standard manner, an address pointer canbe set such that the device retrieves a profile from the first memorylocation. When testing is to be performed on the device, the addresspointer can be set such that the device retrieves a profile from thesecond memory location. This addressing technique may be referred to asindirect addressing in some contexts.

It should be understood that the alternative primary profile isdifferent from the secondary profiles discussed above. A primary profileand a secondary profile may be active at the same time, with one perhapshaving priority over the other at a given time. The primary andsecondary profiles may allow a user of a device to easily switch backand forth between different usage scenarios. A main primary profile andan alternative primary profile, on the other hand, cannot be active atthe same time. When active, each type of primary profile has priorityover any secondary profiles that may be available. Switching between themain primary profile and the alternative primary profile typicallyrequires changing the memory module address from which profileinformation is read.

In an embodiment, a profile management tool that can be referred to asthe Perso tool can be used to create and install an alternative primaryprofile on a device at a time after the time of manufacture and/or at alocation other than the point of manufacture. The creation andinstallation of the alternative primary profile can be performed by anentity other than the manufacturer of the memory module in the device.For example, a telecommunications provider or other vendor of the devicemay wish to create and install an alternative primary profile in orderto perform testing on the device.

In a typical scenario, a testing technician associated with the entitythat wishes to perform testing might retrieve identity data, such as anidentifier and an authentication key, from the device to be tested. Thetester might then place the identity data in a profile template that hasbeen designed to receive such data. The tester might then send thetemplate to an authorized person who is also associated with the entityperforming the testing. The authorized person might then place theidentity data from the template and information about a desired testenvironment into an administrative version of the Perso tool.Alternatively, the tester may place the test environment information inthe template. An access control list or similar security mechanism mightbe used to ensure that only authorized persons are allowed to use theadministrative version of the Perso tool.

The administrative version of the Perso tool uses the identity data andthe information about the desired test environment to generate a profilefile. The profile file can then be made available to the tester, who hasaccess to a user version of the Perso tool. Using a hard-wiredconnection between the user version of the Perso tool and the device,the tester might install the profile file in the memory module of thedevice at a secure location that is available to the entity performingthe testing but that cannot be accessed by any other entity. The addressof the secure location is different from the address of the main primaryprofile and becomes the address of the alternative primary profile. Theuser version of the Perso tool may provide a capability for the testerto switch the address from which a profile is retrieved during testingfrom the address of the main primary profile to the address of thealternative primary profile.

In an embodiment, the data used in creating the alternative primaryprofile is wholly under the control of the entity performing thetesting. That is, no entity other than the entity performing the testinghas access to the data used in creating the alternative primary profile,and the entity performing the testing does not use data from any othersource.

In addition, the entity performing the testing is not allowed any accessto the secure data associated with the main primary profile. In thisway, the existing security levels for the main primary profile aremaintained, and the main primary profile is not impacted in any way bythe testing that is performed on the alternative primary profile.

In an embodiment, a secure bank of profile templates or potentialalternative primary profiles that can automatically be converted intoactual alternative primary profiles may be maintained by an entityperforming device testing. The profiles in the bank may merely need tohave device identity information inserted in order to be converted intoactual alternative primary profiles. In this way, the profile filescould be generated automatically without the need for an authorizedperson to manually place profile templates in the Perso tool.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system that might be used increating and installing an alternative primary profile on a device. Adevice 110 includes a memory module 112 that might be an embedded orremovable card such as a SIM or a UICC. The memory module 112 includes amain primary profile 114 that has been installed in the memory module112 in the standard manner by the manufacturer of the memory module 112at the time of manufacture. The main primary profile 114 is referred toin FIG. 1 as Profile A 114.

The device 110 may be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a media player, or another mobile communication device. Thedevice 110 may be a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tabletcomputer, or another portable computer. The device 110 may be a desktopcomputer or a computer-like module embedded in a machine or other systemsuch as a printer, a refrigerator, or other device.

If testing is to be performed on the device 110 after the time ofmanufacture and/or at a location other than the point of manufacture, atesting technician might obtain identity information 120 from the device110. The identity information 120 might include an identifier and anauthentication key. The testing technician might then place the identityinformation 120 in a profile template 130 that has been designed toreceive the identity information 120. The testing technician might thensend the completed template 130 via some means of communication to anauthorized person who has access to an administrative version 140 of thePerso tool. In some embodiments, the testing technician might include inthe profile template 130 information 135 about an environment in whichtesting is to be performed. Alternatively, the authorized person mightprovide the test environment information 135 directly into theadministrative version 140 of the Perso tool. The authorized person'saccess to the administrative version 140 of the Perso tool might becontrolled by an access control list 150 or a similar securitymechanism.

The administrative version 140 of the Perso tool has the capability tocreate alternative primary profiles based on the identity information120 in the profile template 130 and on the test environment information135. A profile creation component 142 in the administrative version 140of the Perso tool may generate an alternative primary profile using thisidentity and environment information and place the alternative primaryprofile in a profile file 160. The profile file 160 might then be sentvia some means of communication to a user version 170 of the Perso tool.While the administrative version 140 and the user version 170 of thePerso tool are depicted as separate components, the administrativeversion 140 and the user version 170 could be different versions of thesame entity, could be different entities, or could be differentcomponents within an overall Perso system. Typically, the administrativeversion 140 of the Perso tool would have a higher level of security thanthe user version 170 of the Perso tool.

After the user version 170 of the Perso tool receives the profile file160, the testing technician might use the user version 170 of the Persotool to install on the device 110 the alternative primary profile thatwas contained in the profile file 160. The installed alternative primaryprofile is referred to in FIG. 1 as Profile A′ 116. The alternativeprimary profile 116 has a different address in the memory module 112than the main primary profile 114.

In an embodiment, the user version 170 of the Perso tool includes anaddress designation component 172 that allows the testing technician tospecify the address in the memory module 112 at which the alternativeprimary profile 116 is to be installed. The address designationcomponent 172 might also allow the testing technician to specify theaddress from which profile information is to be read. That is, theaddress designation component 172 might set an address pointer in thedevice 110 such that either the main primary profile 114 or thealternative primary profile 116 is read by applications that execute onthe device 110 and attempt to access a primary profile.

In an embodiment, the connection over which the alternative primaryprofile 116 is installed is a hard-wired connection 180, such as aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) connection. The hard-wired connection 180 canimprove security compared to a wireless connection since the use of thehard-wired connection 180 ensures that a testing technician must bephysically present to make the connection between the device 110 and theuser version 170 of the Perso tool. The credentials of the testingtechnician can be verified to ensure that only authorized persons areallowed to make the physical connection between the user version 170 ofthe Perso tool and the device 110 and thereby install the alternativeprimary profile 116 on the device 110.

In an embodiment, at least a portion of the procedure for creatingprofile files 160 that contain alternative primary profiles 116 can beautomated. That is, a repository 190 of profile templates or potentialalternative primary profiles might be maintained and might be capable ofcommunicating with the administrative version 140 of the Perso tool overa communication link. A plurality of profile templates might bemaintained in the repository 190, and each of the profile templatesmight include information associated with a different test environment.The administrative version 140 of the Perso tool can convert a profiletemplate received from the repository 190 to a profile file 160 bycombining identity information for a specific device with testenvironment information contained in a stored template. In this way, theauthorized person need only associate the appropriate test environmentinformation with a potential alternative primary profile and thenprovide the associated information to the administrative version 140 ofthe Perso tool.

When testing is to be performed on the device 110, the testingtechnician might use the user version 170 of the Perso tool to specifythat profile information is to be read from the address of thealternative primary profile 116. When testing is complete, the testingtechnician might use the user version 170 of the Perso tool to specifythat profile information is to be read from the address of the mainprimary profile 114. In some embodiments, the alternative primaryprofile 116 might then be erased from the memory module 112. The erasuremight be initiated by a request from the testing technician or might bedone automatically upon completion of the testing. That is, when testingof the device 110 is complete, the alternative primary profile 116 maybe deleted by an automatic deletion or a requested deletion.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method forcreating and installing alternative primary profiles on a device. Atblock 210, identity information is obtained from the device. At block220, the identity information is provided to a profile management tool.The identity information may be entered into a profile template designedto receive the identity information, and then the completed template maybe provided to the profile management tool. At block 230, testenvironment information is provided to the profile management tool. Insome embodiments, the test environment information may be entered intothe profile template by a testing technician. In other embodiments, thetest environment information may be entered directly into the profilemanagement tool by an authorized person who is allowed access to theidentity management tool and who may specify the parameters under whichtesting of the device is to occur. In other embodiments, the testenvironment information may be obtained from a repository of potentialalternative primary profiles, each associated with a different testenvironment.

At block 240, the profile management tool uses the identity informationand the test environment information to create a profile file thatcontains an alternative primary profile. At block 250, the profilemanagement tool sends the profile file to a second version of theprofile management tool. The profile management tool and the secondversion of the profile management tool may be similar components thathave differences in their capabilities and/or their authority levels ormay be differently enabled components within an overall profilemanagement system.

At block 260, the second version of the profile management tool is usedto install the alternative primary profile on the device. A testingtechnician may be able to use the second version of the profilemanagement tool to specify an address in a memory module in the deviceat which the alternative primary profile is to be installed and fromwhich the alternative primary profile is to be read. The installation ofthe alternative primary profile may occur over a hard-wired connectionbetween the second version of the profile management tool and thedevice. After the installation of the alternative primary profile,testing may be performed on the device using the alternative primaryprofile and the parameters specified in the test environmentinformation. When testing is complete, the second version of the profilemanagement tool may be used to switch the memory address from whichprofile information is read to the address of the main primary profile,thus allowing the device to operate in the standard manner for consumeruse. The alternative primary profile might then be erased, eithermanually or automatically. Alternatively, steps may be taken to ensurethat the pointer that points to the location from which profiles areread does not point to the location of the alternative primary profile.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method formanaging telecommunication device profiles. At block 310, at least onealternative primary profile is added to a memory module at analternative address different from a main address of a main primaryprofile. At block 320, a pointer that points to an address in the memorymodule from which a profile is retrieved is modified such that thepointer points to the alternative address.

FIG. 4 depicts a mobile device 400, which is operable for implementingaspects of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure should notbe limited to these implementations. The mobile device 400 may besubstantially similar to the device 110 of FIG. 1. Though illustrated asa mobile phone, the mobile device 400 may take various forms including awireless handset, a pager, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gamingdevice, or a media player. The mobile device 400 includes a display 402and a touch-sensitive surface and/or keys 404 for input by a user. Themobile device 400 may present options for the user to select, controlsfor the user to actuate, and/or cursors or other indicators for the userto direct. The mobile device 400 may further accept data entry from theuser, including numbers to dial or various parameter values forconfiguring the operation of the handset. The mobile device 400 mayfurther execute one or more software or firmware applications inresponse to user commands. These applications may configure the mobiledevice 400 to perform various customized functions in response to userinteraction. Additionally, the mobile device 400 may be programmedand/or configured over-the-air, for example from a wireless basestation, a wireless access point, or a peer mobile device 400. Themobile device 400 may execute a web browser application which enablesthe display 402 to show a web page. The web page may be obtained viawireless communications with a base transceiver station, a wirelessnetwork access node, a peer mobile device 400 or any other wirelesscommunication network or system.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the mobile device 400. While a varietyof known components of handsets are depicted, in an embodiment a subsetof the listed components and/or additional components not listed may beincluded in the mobile device 400. The mobile device 400 includes adigital signal processor (DSP) 502 and a memory 504. As shown, themobile device 400 may further include an antenna and front end unit 506,a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 508, a baseband processing unit 510,a microphone 512, an earpiece speaker 514, a headset port 516, aninput/output interface 518, a removable memory card 520, a universalserial bus (USB) port 522, an infrared port 524, a vibrator 526, akeypad 528, a touch screen liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touchsensitive surface 530, a touch screen/LCD controller 532, a camera 534,a camera controller 536, and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver538. In an embodiment, the mobile device 400 may include another kind ofdisplay that does not provide a touch sensitive screen. In anembodiment, the DSP 502 may communicate directly with the memory 504without passing through the input/output interface 518. Additionally, inan embodiment, the mobile device 400 may comprise other peripheraldevices that provide other functionality.

The DSP 502 or some other form of controller or central processing unitoperates to control the various components of the mobile device 400 inaccordance with embedded software or firmware stored in memory 504 orstored in memory contained within the DSP 502 itself. In addition to theembedded software or firmware, the DSP 502 may execute otherapplications stored in the memory 504 or made available via informationcarrier media such as portable data storage media like the removablememory card 520 or via wired or wireless network communications. Theapplication software may comprise a compiled set of machine-readableinstructions that configure the DSP 502 to provide the desiredfunctionality, or the application software may be high-level softwareinstructions to be processed by an interpreter or compiler to indirectlyconfigure the DSP 502.

The DSP 502 may communicate with a wireless network via the analogbaseband processing unit 510. In some embodiments, the communication mayprovide Internet connectivity, enabling a user to gain access to contenton the Internet and to send and receive e-mail or text messages. Theinput/output interface 518 interconnects the DSP 502 and variousmemories and interfaces. The memory 504 and the removable memory card520 may provide software and data to configure the operation of the DSP502. Among the interfaces may be the USB port 522 and the infrared port524. The USB port 522 may enable the mobile device 400 to function as aperipheral device to exchange information with a personal computer orother computer system. The infrared port 524 and other optional portssuch as a Bluetooth interface or an IEEE 802.11 compliant wirelessinterface may enable the mobile device 400 to communicate wirelesslywith other nearby handsets and/or wireless base stations.

The keypad 528 couples to the DSP 502 via the interface 518 to provideone mechanism for the user to make selections, enter information, andotherwise provide input to the mobile device 400. Another inputmechanism may be the touch screen LCD 530, which may also display textand/or graphics to the user. The touch screen LCD controller 532 couplesthe DSP 502 to the touch screen LCD 530. The GPS receiver 538 is coupledto the DSP 502 to decode global positioning system signals, therebyenabling the mobile device 400 to determine its position.

FIG. 6A illustrates a software environment 602 that may be implementedby the DSP 502. The DSP 502 executes operating system software 604 thatprovides a platform from which the rest of the software operates. Theoperating system software 604 may provide a variety of drivers for thehandset hardware with standardized interfaces that are accessible toapplication software. The operating system software 604 may be coupledto and interact with application management services (AMS) 606 thattransfer control between applications running on the mobile device 400.Also shown in FIG. 6A are a web browser application 608, a media playerapplication 610, and JAVA applets 612. The web browser application 608may be executed by the mobile device 400 to browse content and/or theInternet, for example when the mobile device 400 is coupled to a networkvia a wireless link. The web browser application 608 may permit a userto enter information into forms and select links to retrieve and viewweb pages. The media player application 610 may be executed by themobile device 400 to play audio or audiovisual media. The JAVA applets612 may be executed by the mobile device 400 to provide a variety offunctionality including games, utilities, and other functionality.

FIG. 6B illustrates an alternative software environment 620 that may beimplemented by the DSP 502. The DSP 502 executes operating systemsoftware 628 and an execution runtime 630. The DSP 502 executesapplications 622 that may execute in the execution runtime 630 and mayrely upon services provided by the application framework 624.Applications 622 and the application framework 624 may rely uponfunctionality provided via the libraries 626.

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system 380 suitable for implementing oneor more embodiments disclosed herein. The computer system 380 includes aprocessor 382 (which may be referred to as a central processor unit orCPU) that is in communication with memory devices including secondarystorage 384, read only memory (ROM) 386, random access memory (RAM) 388,input/output (I/O) devices 390, and network connectivity devices 392.The processor 382 may be implemented as one or more CPU chips.

It is understood that by programming and/or loading executableinstructions onto the computer system 380, at least one of the CPU 382,the RAM 388, and the ROM 386 are changed, transforming the computersystem 380 in part into a particular machine or apparatus having thenovel functionality taught by the present disclosure. It is fundamentalto the electrical engineering and software engineering arts thatfunctionality that can be implemented by loading executable softwareinto a computer can be converted to a hardware implementation bywell-known design rules. Decisions between implementing a concept insoftware versus hardware typically hinge on considerations of stabilityof the design and numbers of units to be produced rather than any issuesinvolved in translating from the software domain to the hardware domain.Generally, a design that is still subject to frequent change may bepreferred to be implemented in software, because re-spinning a hardwareimplementation is more expensive than re-spinning a software design.Generally, a design that is stable that will be produced in large volumemay be preferred to be implemented in hardware, for example in anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), because for largeproduction runs the hardware implementation may be less expensive thanthe software implementation. Often a design may be developed and testedin a software form and later transformed, by well-known design rules, toan equivalent hardware implementation in an application specificintegrated circuit that hardwires the instructions of the software. Inthe same manner as a machine controlled by a new ASIC is a particularmachine or apparatus, likewise a computer that has been programmedand/or loaded with executable instructions may be viewed as a particularmachine or apparatus.

The secondary storage 384 is typically comprised of one or more diskdrives or tape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data andas an over-flow data storage device if RAM 388 is not large enough tohold all working data. Secondary storage 384 may be used to storeprograms which are loaded into RAM 388 when such programs are selectedfor execution. The ROM 386 is used to store instructions and perhapsdata which are read during program execution. ROM 386 is a non-volatilememory device which typically has a small memory capacity relative tothe larger memory capacity of secondary storage 384. The RAM 388 is usedto store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions. Access to bothROM 386 and RAM 388 is typically faster than to secondary storage 384.The secondary storage 384, the RAM 388, and/or the ROM 386 may bereferred to in some contexts as computer readable storage media and/ornon-transitory computer readable media.

I/O devices 390 may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystaldisplays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches,dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tapereaders, or other well-known input devices.

The network connectivity devices 392 may take the form of modems, modembanks, Ethernet cards, universal serial bus (USB) interface cards,serial interfaces, token ring cards, fiber distributed data interface(FDDI) cards, wireless local area network (WLAN) cards, radiotransceiver cards such as code division multiple access (CDMA), globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE),worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and/or otherair interface protocol radio transceiver cards, and other well-knownnetwork devices. These network connectivity devices 392 may enable theprocessor 382 to communicate with the Internet or one or more intranets.With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the processor382 might receive information from the network, or might outputinformation to the network in the course of performing theabove-described method steps. Such information, which is oftenrepresented as a sequence of instructions to be executed using processor382, may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, inthe form of a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave.

Such information, which may include data or instructions to be executedusing processor 382 for example, may be received from and outputted tothe network, for example, in the form of a computer data baseband signalor signal embodied in a carrier wave. The baseband signal or signalembedded in the carrier wave, or other types of signals currently usedor hereafter developed, may be generated according to several methodswell known to one skilled in the art. The baseband signal and/or signalembedded in the carrier wave may be referred to in some contexts as atransitory signal.

The processor 382 executes instructions, codes, computer programs,scripts which it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk(these various disk based systems may all be considered secondarystorage 384), ROM 386, RAM 388, or the network connectivity devices 392.While only one processor 382 is shown, multiple processors may bepresent. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as executed by aprocessor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously, serially, orotherwise executed by one or multiple processors. Instructions, codes,computer programs, scripts, and/or data that may be accessed from thesecondary storage 384, for example, hard drives, floppy disks, opticaldisks, and/or other device, the ROM 386, and/or the RAM 388 may bereferred to in some contexts as non-transitory instructions and/ornon-transitory information.

In an embodiment, the computer system 380 may comprise two or morecomputers in communication with each other that collaborate to perform atask. For example, but not by way of limitation, an application may bepartitioned in such a way as to permit concurrent and/or parallelprocessing of the instructions of the application. Alternatively, thedata processed by the application may be partitioned in such a way as topermit concurrent and/or parallel processing of different portions of adata set by the two or more computers. In an embodiment, virtualizationsoftware may be employed by the computer system 380 to provide thefunctionality of a number of servers that is not directly bound to thenumber of computers in the computer system 380. For example,virtualization software may provide twenty virtual servers on fourphysical computers. In an embodiment, the functionality disclosed abovemay be provided by executing the application and/or applications in acloud computing environment. Cloud computing may comprise providingcomputing services via a network connection using dynamically scalablecomputing resources. Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part,by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may beestablished by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basisfrom a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments maycomprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterpriseas well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a thirdparty provider.

In an embodiment, some or all of the functionality disclosed above maybe provided as a computer program product. The computer program productmay comprise one or more computer readable storage medium havingcomputer usable program code embodied therein to implement thefunctionality disclosed above. The computer program product may comprisedata structures, executable instructions, and other computer usableprogram code. The computer program product may be embodied in removablecomputer storage media and/or non-removable computer storage media. Theremovable computer readable storage medium may comprise, withoutlimitation, a paper tape, a magnetic tape, magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, a solid state memory chip, for example analog magnetic tape,compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) disks, floppy disks, jump drives,digital cards, multimedia cards, and others. The computer programproduct may be suitable for loading, by the computer system 380, atleast portions of the contents of the computer program product to thesecondary storage 384, to the ROM 386, to the RAM 388, and/or to othernon-volatile memory and volatile memory of the computer system 380. Theprocessor 382 may process the executable instructions and/or datastructures in part by directly accessing the computer program product,for example by reading from a CD-ROM disk inserted into a disk driveperipheral of the computer system 380. Alternatively, the processor 382may process the executable instructions and/or data structures byremotely accessing the computer program product, for example bydownloading the executable instructions and/or data structures from aremote server through the network connectivity devices 392. The computerprogram product may comprise instructions that promote the loadingand/or copying of data, data structures, files, and/or executableinstructions to the secondary storage 384, to the ROM 386, to the RAM388, and/or to other non-volatile memory and volatile memory of thecomputer system 380.

In some contexts, the secondary storage 384, the ROM 386, and the RAM388 may be referred to as a non-transitory computer readable medium or acomputer readable storage media. A dynamic RAM embodiment of the RAM388, likewise, may be referred to as a non-transitory computer readablemedium in that while the dynamic RAM receives electrical power and isoperated in accordance with its design, for example during a period oftime during which the computer 380 is turned on and operational, thedynamic RAM stores information that is written to it. Similarly, theprocessor 382 may comprise an internal RAM, an internal ROM, a cachememory, and/or other internal non-transitory storage blocks, sections,or components that may be referred to in some contexts as non-transitorycomputer readable media or computer readable storage media.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted or not implemented.

Also, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating witheach other may be indirectly coupled or communicating through someinterface, device, or intermediate component, whether electrically,mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes, substitutions,and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could bemade without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing device profiles, the methodcomprising: adding at least one alternative primary profile to a memorymodule at an alternative address different from a main address of a mainprimary profile, wherein the main primary profile comprises a maindevice identifier and a main authentication key, and wherein thealternative primary profile comprises an alternative device identifierand an alternative authentication key; and modifying a pointer thatpoints to an address in the memory module from which a profile isretrieved such that the pointer points to the alternative address. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein adding the at least one alternativeprimary profile does not modify the main primary profile.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the main device identifier of the main primaryprofile comprises an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) ora mobile directory number (MDN), and wherein the main authentication keyof the main primary profile comprises a K value or an A-key.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the alternative primary profile containsinformation regarding an environment in which the device is to betested.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the alternative deviceidentity information and the test environment information are enteredinto a profile template and the profile template is entered into aprofile management tool, and wherein the profile management tool createsthe alternative primary profile from the profile template.
 6. The methodof claim 4, wherein the test environment information is retrieved by aprofile management tool from a repository of alternative primary profiletemplates, and wherein the profile management tool creates thealternative primary profile by combining the test environmentinformation in the alternative primary profile template with thealternative device identity information.
 7. The method of claim 4,wherein the alternative primary profile is retrieved from thealternative address for testing of the device and the main primaryprofile is retrieved from the main address for consumer use of thedevice.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein, when testing of the device iscomplete, the alternative primary profile is deleted by at least one of:an automatic deletion; or a requested deletion.
 9. A system for creatingand installing an alternative primary profile on a device, the systemcomprising: a first version of a profile management tool configured toreceive identity information associated with the device and testenvironment information associated with the device and furtherconfigured to create the alternative primary profile based on theidentity information and the test environment information; and a secondversion of the profile management tool configured to receive thealternative primary profile from the first version of the profilemanagement tool and further configured to install the alternativeprimary profile on the device, wherein the alternative primary profilecomprises an alternative device identifier based on the identityinformation and an alternative authentication key.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the alternative primary profile is installed at analternative memory address different from a main memory address of amain primary profile on the device, wherein the main primary profilecomprises a main device identifier and a main authentication key. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the installation of the alternativeprimary profile does not modify the main primary profile.
 12. The systemof claim 10, wherein the second version of the profile management tooldirects the device to retrieve the alternative primary profile from thealternative address for testing of the device, and wherein the secondversion of the profile management tool directs the device to retrievethe main primary profile from the main address for consumer use of thedevice.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein, when testing of the deviceis complete, the alternative primary profile is deleted by at least oneof: an automatic deletion; or a requested deletion.
 14. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the identity information and the test environmentinformation are entered into a profile template and the profile templateis entered into the first version of the profile management tool. 15.The system of claim 9, wherein the first version of the profilemanagement tool retrieves the test environment information from arepository of alternative primary profile templates, and wherein thefirst version of the profile management tool creates the alternativeprimary profile by combining the test environment information in one ofthe alternative primary profile templates with the identity information.16. The system of claim 9, wherein a connection between the device andthe second version of the profile management tool is a hard-wiredconnection.
 17. A method for creating and installing an alternativeprimary profile on a device, the method comprising: retrieving, by aprofile management tool, from a repository of test environmenttemplates, a test environment template applicable to testing to beperformed on the device; combining, by the profile management tool, thetest environment template with identity information for the device tocreate the alternative primary profile; and installing, by the profilemanagement tool, at an alternative memory address on the devicedifferent from a main memory address of a main primary profile for thedevice, the alternative primary profile.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein installing the alternative primary profile does not modify themain primary profile.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein thealternative primary profile is retrieved from the alternative addressfor testing of the device and the main primary profile is retrieved fromthe main address for consumer use of the device.
 20. The method of claim19, wherein, when testing of the device is complete, the alternativeprimary profile is deleted by at least one of: an automatic deletion; ora requested deletion.